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Thursday, June 01, 2006

Sen. Terri Bonoff (D-Minnetonka) was one of a handful of Hennepin County state Senators who voted in favor of granting Hennepin County an exemption from asking voter permission to levy a sales tax to help pay for the Minnesota Twins professional baseball stadium. West metro legislators recently shared their views on this controversial bill in this week's Sun Newspapers:

Rep. Steve Smith (R-Mound): "The Twins stadium bill was premised upon the promise to benefit the many and be paid for by the few — in this case the taxpayers of one county, Hennepin. This was wrong. Minnesotans have been extended the right to vote on local sales tax impositions, and taking away that right to vote so as to promote subsidies for a private business was wrong."

Sen. Gen Olson (R-Minnetrista): "I felt strongly that the sales tax is a state tax," she said, adding that if the tax was to be Hennepin County's burden, voters should have been able to vote on a referendum.

Rep. Ron Abrams (R-Minnetonka): "I thought it was unfair to single out Hennepin County to pay the tax."

Sen. Bonoff: "During the campaign I made it clear that I was a supporter of the stadiums. I have a vision of what our cities are going to be. In order to be a thriving metropolis we need the Twins."

Although denied a referendum on the $1 billion sales tax, Senate District 43 voters will have a chance to express whether they share Sen. Bonoff's vision of public subsidies for private business, when Bonoff runs for reelection this November.

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